Antiques Roadshow

I am one of the few Americans who used to watch this British version of "Antiques Roadshow"--long before the American version came to Public Television here in the States. Because the Brits made the first, they are to be commended on taking such a simple idea and making it work. And, work it did, as the show has been on for over 30 years!! There are a few things I really like about the British version--mostly the nice outdoor settings as well as the sorts of items you see on the show (things most Americans would rarely, if ever, see). However, I don't give the show a higher score for one uniquely British reason. The reactions of many of the guests are AMAZINGLY muted. So, for example, when lady learns that her Rembrandt she picked up at a rummage sale is an original and is worth 139023941034092321 quid, I am gobsmacked (a good British word) that the reaction is so little! And, when the public does react, I noticed that they are frequently Americans living in the UK! This is NOT an anti-British statement--I am just saying that for viewers it's less fun to watch because the folks rarely seem very happy when they learn their trinkets are, in fact, worth a fortune. Still, it's a brilliantly simple idea that has stood the test of time and we Americans owe the BBC folks our thanks.

Some treasures are sometimes uncovered wich is an education in itself. However some of the appraisers give me the creeps. The guy with the horrible teeth and the guy with the dirty long fingernails to name a couple. There also seem some envy and desire to own some of the objects by other appraisers. On a happier note i do like the host, she is intellegent, articulate and often fun. The values often are all over the place; take them with a grain of salt.

I like when they think something is worth heaps but it's really just junk

On the ARS shown on Sunday 1st February, one of the presenters described a photograph that an explorer from the Antarctic was fishing for walrus, that the crew of the ship, lived on. Someone in your research team needs to get their facts right. You DO NOT get Walrus in the Antactic, nor have they ever lived there. The creature that was shown in the photographs was probably a sea lion, similar but entirely different, they could not survive in the antarctic, which in the main try to catch penguins as their main scorce of food.

If the commentators are going to give outcasts, then it would be helpful it they got the facts right.

A nice little show about antique objects and their value. But it could have been presented better, more beautifully, more comfortably. The German version "Bares für Rares" is a lot better positioned here.